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Desert Sky Observer Volume 34 Antelope Valley Astronomy Club Newsletter February 2014
Up-Coming Events February 12: Board meeting
February 14: Club Meeting*
February 22: Prime Desert Moon Walk
* Monthly meetings are held at the S.A.G.E. Planetarium on the Cactus School campus in Palmdale, the second Friday of each
month. The meeting location is at the northeast corner of Avenue R and 20th
Street East. Meetings start at 7 p.m. and are open to
the public. Please note that food and drink are not allowed in the planetarium
President
Frank Moore
Happy February everyone. I hope everyone is staying warm through our “frigid”
temperatures. All kidding aside, and as much as we astronomers appreciate temperate
weather, we all need to be hoping and praying for rain and snow to help mitigate
California’s dismal water situation.
While we often mention celestial events in these pages, the latest comet, supernova, or discovery in
theoretical physics, I have a different kind of star to talk about this month. On January 15, 2014 we lost one
of the brightest stars of the astronomical community. Chemist, monk, cosmologist, and perhaps the greatest
advocate for public outreach and father of “sidewalk astronomy”, John Dobson, passed away on January 15
at the age of 98.
Many of you will instantly recognize the name and associate it with his simple yet innovative invention,
the Dobsonian telescope mount. As we have come to know it, the “Dobsonian telescope” or simply “Dob”,
is a Newtonian reflector on a simple alt-azimuth mount. I sometimes describe it to non-astronomers as a
Lazy Susan on steroids. While they now come in many shapes and sizes, from both amateur telescope
makers and commercial manufacturers, they are all still instantly recognizable as dobsonians. John’s legacy
was, of course, that he intended for his designs to be inexpensive and that they would be built from common
materials like plywood, cardboard construction tubes, mirrors ground from recycled glass, and common
household hardware. Bob Alborzian, one of John’s oldest and dearest friends and member of the Burbank
Sidewalk Astronomers, is famous for his telescope, adorned with Rock & Roll flyers and newspaper
articles, which swivels smoothly on a bearing made of an old LP record and several strips of Teflon.
John was opinionated and not timid about speaking his mind. He was not impressed with some of the
commercial versions of dobsonian telescopes, that had come to be made out of exotic materials and which
even have clock drives and Go-to systems, as he felt they had violated his tenet of “affordability”. One year
while I was talking to him at the Pacific Astronomy and Telescope Show (PATS) in Pasadena, he motioned
to the dobsonian telescopes on display by one of the large manufacturers and openly called them “junk”.
John also had his own theories on cosmology and the origins of the universe, did not believe in the “big
bang”, and was a militant environmentalist. Several years ago he was a speaker at RTMC, and while Rose,
myself, and Darrell and Nick Bennett waited to get his autograph on one of his books, he proclaimed,
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“Anyone who drives a car with an internal combustion engine should be shot.” A voice from with the
crowd responded, “How did you get up here John?”, a query which was met by silence.
In a nutshell, John was a character who will be dearly missed. On John Dobson’s official Facebook
page, and the page of the Sidewalk Astronomers, many people have inquired about making donations in his
honor. They have responded thusly, “What needed to be taken care of has been and we instead ask that if
you want to make a donation, find a local astronomy club and assist them with outreach in some way or
help a school or library get a scope they can use with the public. That is what JD would want.” They are
also soliciting stories, pictures of John, pictures of dobsonian telescopes, and other memorabilia for a
documentary book and video they will be compiling about John. Information can be found here:
https://www.facebook.com/Sidewalkastro/posts/10153659182230012?stream_ref=10
The Sidewalk Astronomers has noted on their website, “On March 8th, in honor of John, this year's
ISAN (International Sidewalk Astronomy Night) will be dedicated to his memory. Amateur astronomers
around the globe can join in and celebrate John's life and continue to carry the torch that he lit back in 1968
when he co-founded the San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers.”
I would like to participate and we will be looking for suitable venue. In keeping with the theme of
“sidewalk astronomy”, I don’t want this to be a remote “dark sky site” but rather someplace where we can
expect to have a lot of public traffic. I would welcome your suggestions so send me an email or give me a
call if have someplace in mind. Thanks
Vice President
Rose Moore
I'd like to thank Dr. Gary Peterson for giving us a presentation at January's meeting!
He came from the San Diego area, so he had quite a drive to get to us! Gary spoke on
'Satellites and the Ring System of Saturn', giving us a different perspective of the Titan
and Saturn system and of how they formed. He based his lecture on his years of teaching
and understanding geologic formations. A well attended presentation and enjoyed by all!
I have submitted a speaker request form into the Speaker Bureau from the NASA, so we are waiting to
hear from them. I'll also be sending some emails out to previous speakers and others to see who we may be
able to obtain for our meetings. Also if anyone has any suggestions for speakers, email me. Another item
on my agenda is to sort out and find us a place for our Christmas party this year...yes, unfortunately, these
restaurants get booked up, usually by spring! If anyone has any suggestions please let me know. Please
check our club calendar for upcoming events, and come out to support your fellow members!
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Director of Community Development
Don Bryden
This month we have a Prime Desert Moonwalk on Saturday the 22nd at 6:30 pm.
Come out and hear Jeremy talk about the Winter sky or bring your scope and share the
view with the public. What to look at, you ask? By month’s end Orion will be transiting
to the south just after sunset. You can follow the Winter circle from Sirius in Canis
Major to Procyon in Canis Minor to Castor and Pollux in Gemini. High overhead will be Capella the
mother goat in Auriga and on to Aldebaran in Taurus. Finally come full circle to Rigel in Orion. Orion, in
fact, anchors the entire loop with the hunter standing straight up, prominently in the south.
This circle of bright stars can guide you to many objects as well. In Canis Major you can find M41, a
nice bright open cluster. Although Procyon has no prominent objects, cheat a bit and look to the east to find
M44, the Beehive cluster in Cancer. Continuing around to Gemini you can see a nice easy double star in
Castor. Castor AB is a long period binary that is easily split in a small to medium scope. At the foot of the
twins is M35, a loose open cluster with NGC 2158, a tight, small open cluster just to the lower right.
Moving up to Auriga we continue with more open clusters with M36, M37 & M38. Just below Auriga
and above Orion you come to the horns of the bull Taurus. Just next to the lower horn star is M1, the Crab
nebula. This is a very diffuse object and can be hard in less than ideal conditions.
We continue our tour clockwise to Aldebaran and a nice open cluster called the Hyades. The Hyades are
the five daughters of Atlas and half-sisters to the Pleiades which are just off to the right. Aldebaran is the
brightest star in the group but not actually part of the cluster. Finally head back down to the foot of Orion
and Rigel. This is another favorite double star of mine with Rigel B being so much smaller than its well-
known companion. Most folks will look at Rigel and not notice it’s binary companion but if you tell them it
has a little twin they notice it right away.
Of course we’ve been dancing all around the jewel of Winter, Orion and it’s molecular cloud complex.
From M42 and the Running Man nebula in Orion’s sword to M78, the Flame and Horsehead in the belt, the
complex wraps all around the middle of the hunter. If your skies are dark then look over in Eridanus, next
to Rigel, for the Fox Face and Witch’s Head nebulae.
One last treat? Look up at that extremely bright star in Gemini – it’s Jupiter! That’s quite a lot of
goodies for one night so let’s get a few scopes out there and share the view.
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Space Place
Surprising Young Stars in the Oldest Places in the Universe By Dr. Ethan Siegel
Littered among the stars in our night sky are the famed deep-sky objects. These range from extended
spiral and elliptical galaxies millions or even billions of light years away to the star clusters, nebulae, and
stellar remnants strewn throughout our own galaxy. But there's an intermediate class of objects, too: the
globular star clusters, self-contained clusters of stars found in spherically-distributed halos around each
galaxy.
Back before there were any stars or galaxies in the
universe, it was an expanding, cooling sea of matter and
radiation containing regions where the matter was slightly
more dense in some places than others. While gravity worked
to pull more and more matter into these places, the pressure
from radiation pushed back, preventing the gravitational
collapse of gas clouds below a certain mass. In the young
universe, this meant no clouds smaller than around a few
hundred thousand times the mass of our Sun could collapse.
This coincides with a globular cluster's typical mass, and
their stars are some of the oldest in the universe!
These compact, spherical collections of stars are all less
than 100 light-years in radius, but typically have around
100,000 stars inside them, making them nearly 100 times
denser than our neighborhood of the Milky Way! The vast
majority of globular clusters have extremely few heavy
elements (heavier than helium), as little as 1% of what we
find in our Sun. There's a good reason for this: our Sun is
only 4.5 billion years old and has seen many generations of
stars live-and-die, while globular clusters (and the stars inside
of them) are often over 13 billion years old, or more than
90% the age of the universe! When you look inside one of these cosmic collections, you're looking at some
of the oldest stellar swarms in the known universe.
Yet when you look at a high-resolution image of these relics from the early universe, you'll find a
sprinkling of hot, massive, apparently young blue stars! Is there a stellar fountain of youth inside? Kind of!
These massive stellar swarms are so dense -- especially towards the center -- that mergers, mass siphoning
and collisions between stars are quite common. When two long-lived, low-mass stars interact in these ways,
they produce a hotter, bluer star that will be much shorter lived, known as a blue straggler star. First
discovered by Allan Sandage in 1953, these young-looking stars arise thanks to stellar cannibalism. So
enjoy the brightest and bluest stars in these globular clusters, found right alongside the oldest known stars in
the universe!
Learn about a recent globular cluster discovery here: http://www.nasa.gov/press/2013/september/hubble-
uncovers-largest-known-group-of-star-clusters-clues-to-dark-matter.
Kids can learn more about how stars work by listening to The Space Place’s own Dr. Marc:
http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/podcasts/en/ - stars.
Globular Cluster NGC 6397. Credit: ESA &
Francesco Ferraro (Bologna Astronomical
Observatory) / NASA, Hubble Space Telescope,
WFPC2.
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News Headlines
Hubble telescope spies clouds on nearby alien planets
Scientists have found evidence of extraterrestrial clouds blanketing two of the most common types of
planets in our Milky Way galaxy, NASA officials say. Two teams of researchers used the Hubble Space
Telescope to characterize the atmospheres of the two exoplanets. One of the alien planets is a so-called
"super-Earth" larger than the Earth, while the other has been dubbed a "warm Neptune."
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2014/01/03/hubble-telescope-super-planets-alien-clouds/
'Sleeping beauty' comet probe awakens from slumber
The European probe Rosetta woke up Monday after a 31-month hibernation in a nearly decade-old quest to
explore a comet, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced. "Hello, world!" ESA said on Twitter,
mimicking the signal sent back from deep space by the billion-dollar unmanned craft. The agency
described Rosetta as a "sleeping beauty" that had emerged from a long sleep.
http://news.yahoo.com/alarm-call-set-wake-comet-probe-114645648.html
Cosmic 'web' seen for first time
The hidden tendrils of dark matter that underlie the visible Universe may have been traced out for the first
time. Cosmology theory predicts that galaxies are embedded in a cosmic web of "stuff", most of which is
dark matter. Astronomers obtained the first direct images of a part of this network, by exploiting the fact
that a luminous object called a quasar can act as a natural "cosmic flashlight".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25809967
Bright Supernova in M82
A surprise supernova has erupted in M82, the famous nearby irregular galaxy in Ursa Major. Observers are
reporting it at about magnitude 11.2 as of Saturday, January 25th, with a color on the orange side of white.
A spectrum reported by Yi Cao and colleagues (Caltech) suggests that it may still be two weeks away from
reaching its peak brightness. Early spectra showed it to be a Type Ia supernova — an exploded white dwarf
— with debris expanding at up to 20,000 kilometers per second. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community/skyblog/observingblog/Bright-Supernova-in-M82-241477661.html
Stephen Hawking shakes up theory (again): Black holes are actually gray
British physicist Stephen Hawking earned worldwide attention for his surprising claims about black holes,
and he's doing it again with a new paper claiming that "there are no black holes." Actually, Hawking isn't
denying the existence of the massive gravitational singularities that lurk at the center of many galaxies,
including our own Milky Way. He's just saying the classical view of a black hole as an eternal trap for
everything that's inside, even light, is wrong. In his revised view, black holes are ever so slightly gray, with
a chaotic and shifting edge rather than a sharply defined event horizon. http://www.nbcnews.com/science/stephen-hawking-shakes-theory-again-black-holes-are-actually-gray-2D12001605
Water Detected on Dwarf Planet Ceres
Scientists using the Herschel space observatory have made the first definitive detection of water vapor on
the largest and roundest object in the asteroid belt, dwarf planet Ceres. "This is the first time water vapor
has been unequivocally detected on Ceres or any other object in the asteroid belt and provides proof that
Ceres has an icy surface and an atmosphere," said Michael Küppers of ESA in Spain, lead author of a paper
in the journal Nature.
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/22jan_ceres/
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Astrophoto of The Month
M82 with Supernova SN 2014J in the lower right. By Don Bryden. About four hours of LRGB and Ha
Students at the University College London, Mill Hill Observatory, discovered the Type 1a supernova on the
21st of January. M82 lies 12 million light years away in the constellation Ursa Major. Though it will be
fading during February it should still be visible in a small telescope. A Type 1a supernova results when a
white dwarf star accretes matter from a companion star. When the mass of the white dwarf exceeds the
Chandrasekhar Limit (about 1.44 solar masses) the star can no longer be supported by electron degeneracy
pressure, it explodes. The peak brightness of a Type 1a supernova is believed to be constant and so these
can be used as "standard candles" to determine the distances of remote galaxies. This has shown that the
Universe is expanding at an increasing rate and is evidence for dark energy.
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February Sky Data
Best time for deep sky observing this month: February 17 through 28
Venus passed between the Earth and the Sun on the 11th
of January so, in February, will be seen low above the
eastern horizon before dawn. By mid February, the
planet, shining at magnitude -4.6, will be visible 17
degrees above the south-eastern horison at sunrise.
On February 1st, Mercury will lie about 8 degrees
below a slighly fuller crescent Moon and will be visible
for ~2 hours after sunset. Moving back towards the Sun
in angle it will still remain visible for around an hour and
a half after sunset by February 7th but by then its
brightness will have dropped to magnitude +1. Mercury
will pass in front of the Sun (inferior conjunction) on the
15th February but then reappear in the pre dawn sky by
month's end.
Mars, lying in Virgo, rises around 10:30 the start of the
month and about one hour earlier at month's end. Its
magnitude increases from +0.2 to -0.5 during the month
with its angular size increasing from 9 to 11 arc seconds.
So, given good seeing, it is possible to see markings on
its surface such as the polar caps and Syrtis Major. The
north polar region is tilted towards us by ~19 degrees so
North Polar Cap should be particularly prominent.
This month Jupiter is visible for much of the night and
dominates the southern sky in the evening. It was at
opposition on the 5th January so at the start of the month
is high in the sky during the evening. By month's end
Jupiter will be due south at ~8:30 pm. Jupiter is in the
constellation Gemini moving westwards in retrograde
motion towards the star Mebsuta - Epsilon Geminorum.
Saturn is now visible in the pre-dawn sky, rising at
about 1 am at the start of February and at about 11:30 pm
at its end. Lying in Libra, it is shining with a magnitude
of +0.4 and its disk has a diameter of ~17 arc seconds.
The rings have now opened to around 23 degrees from
the line of sight so presenting a magnificant view.
There are no significant meteor-showers in February,
and it is generally a quiet time for sporadic meteors too.
Sun and Moon Rise and Set Date Moonrise Moonset Sunrise Sunset
2/1/2014 07:52 19:55 06:55 17:20
2/5/2014 10:22 ------ 06:51 17:24
2/10/2014 14:05 03:40 06:46 17:29
2/15/2014 18:36 06:45 06:41 17:34
2/20/2014 23:28 09:31 06:35 17:39
2/25/2014 03:23 13:59 06:29 17:44
2/28/2014 05:43 17:29 06:25 17:47
Planet Data
Feb 1
Rise Transit Set Mag
Mercury 07:34 13:15 18:54 -0.3
Venus 04:34 09:56 15:22 -4.6
Mars 22:43 04:32 10:20 0.2
Jupiter 14:38 21:55 05:11 -2.6
Saturn 01:03 06:24 11:45 0.5
Feb 15
Rise Transit Set Mag
Mercury 06:12 11:52 17:41 4.5
Venus 03:59 09:20 14:42 -4.6
Mars 22:02 03:48 09:34 -0.1
Jupiter 13:38 20:55 04:12 -2.6
Saturn 00:10 05:31 10:52 0.5
Feb 28
Rise Transit Set Mag
Mercury 05:05 10:34 16:06 0.9
Venus 03:44 09:05 14:26 -4.6
Mars 21:16 03:01 08:46 -0.5
Jupiter 12:44 20:01 03:19 -2.5
Saturn 23:20 04:40 10:01 0.4
Planet, Sun, and Moon data calculated for local time at Lancaster, CA
First Qtr Feb 6
Full Feb 14
Last Qtr Feb 22
New Mar 1
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Chart is plotted for the sky
on the date and location
of the AVAC Star
Party at 10PM.
To use the chart, go outside within an hour or so of the time listed and hold it up to the sky. Turn the chart so the direction you are looking is at the bottom of the chart. If you are looking to the south then have 'South horizon' at the lower edge.
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Suggested Observing List
The list below contains objects that will be visible on the night of the February 28. The list is sorted by the
best time to observe the object. The difficulty column describes how difficult it is to observe the object from
the current location on a perfect night in a 6 inch Newtonian telescope.
ID Cls Con RA 2000 Dec 2000 Mag Begin Best End Difficulty
NGC 1851 Glob Col 05h14m06.0s -40°02'48" 7.1 18:56 19:11 19:52 difficult
M 52 Open Cas 23h24m48.0s +61°35'36" 8.2 19:00 19:12 19:47 detectable
NGC 7789 Open Cas 23h57m24.0s +56°42'30" 7.5 19:00 19:12 19:45 detectable
M 31 Gal And 00h42m44.3s +41°16'07" 4.3 18:56 19:12 19:13 easy
M 32 Gal And 00h42m41.8s +40°51'58" 8.9 18:56 19:12 19:13 easy
M 77 Gal Cet 02h42m40.8s -00°00'48" 9.7 18:56 19:12 19:30 detectable
NGC 7790 Open Cas 23h58m24.0s +61°12'30" 7.2 18:52 19:13 19:16 easy
M 33 Gal Tri 01h33m50.9s +30°39'36" 6.4 18:57 19:13 19:42 detectable
NGC 752 Open And 01h57m41.0s +37°47'06" 6.6 18:53 19:15 20:21 challenging
NGC 559 Open Cas 01h29m31.0s +63°18'24" 7.4 18:52 19:16 20:52 easy
M 103 Open Cas 01h33m23.0s +60°39'00" 6.9 18:50 19:16 20:48 obvious
NGC 457 Open Cas 01h19m35.0s +58°17'12" 5.1 18:52 19:16 20:30 obvious
M 76 PNe Per 01h42m19.9s +51°34'31" 10.1 18:58 19:16 20:31 detectable
NGC 637 Open Cas 01h43m04.0s +64°02'24" 7.3 18:49 19:17 21:08 obvious
NGC 663 Open Cas 01h46m09.0s +61°14'06" 6.4 18:53 19:17 21:03 easy
NGC 884 Open Per 02h22m18.0s +57°08'12" 4.4 18:49 19:17 21:29 obvious
NGC 869 Open Per 02h19m00.0s +57°07'42" 4.3 18:49 19:17 21:25 obvious
M 34 Open Per 02h42m05.0s +42°45'42" 5.8 18:55 19:17 21:08 easy
NGC 957 Open Per 02h33m21.0s +57°33'36" 7.2 18:54 19:17 21:41 easy
NGC 1027 Open Cas 02h42m40.0s +61°35'42" 7.4 18:58 19:18 21:26 detectable
NGC 1342 Open Per 03h31m38.0s +37°22'36" 7.2 18:56 19:18 21:30 detectable
M 45 Open Tau 03h47m00.0s +24°07'00" 1.5 18:50 19:18 21:41 obvious
Heart Neb Neb Cas 02h33m52.0s +61°26'50" 6.5 19:04 19:18 20:10 challenging
NGC 1245 Open Per 03h14m42.0s +47°14'12" 7.7 18:53 19:18 21:58 challenging
NGC 1444 Open Per 03h49m25.0s +52°39'30" 6.4 18:48 19:19 22:44 obvious
Hyades Open Tau 04h26m54.0s +15°52'00" 0.8 18:52 19:19 22:01 obvious
NGC 1502 Open Cam 04h07m50.0s +62°19'54" 4.1 18:47 19:20 23:28 obvious
NGC 1528 Open Per 04h15m23.0s +51°12'54" 6.4 18:53 19:20 22:57 easy
NGC 1647 Open Tau 04h45m55.0s +19°06'54" 6.2 18:57 19:20 21:32 detectable
NGC 1664 Open Aur 04h51m06.0s +43°40'30" 7.2 18:52 19:21 23:14 easy
NGC 1746 Open Tau 05h03m50.0s +23°46'12" 6.1 18:56 19:21 21:54 detectable
M 43 Neb Ori 05h35m30.0s -05°16'00" 9.0 19:00 19:22 21:02 difficult
M 42 Neb Ori 05h35m18.0s -05°23'00" 4.0 18:53 19:22 22:02 easy
M 38 Open Aur 05h28m40.0s +35°50'54" 6.8 18:54 19:23 23:04 detectable
M 1 Neb Tau 05h34m30.0s +22°01'00" 8.4 19:00 19:23 21:36 difficult
M 36 Open Aur 05h36m18.0s +34°08'24" 6.5 18:50 19:25 23:50 easy
M 78 Neb Ori 05h46m48.0s +00°05'00" 8.0 19:01 19:25 21:14 difficult
M 37 Open Aur 05h52m18.0s +32°33'12" 6.2 18:51 19:27 23:55 easy
NGC 2129 Open Gem 06h01m07.0s +23°19'20" 7.0 18:49 19:29 23:53 obvious
NGC 2169 Open Ori 06h08m24.0s +13°57'54" 7.0 18:49 19:32 23:36 obvious
M 35 Open Gem 06h09m00.0s +24°21'00" 5.6 18:52 19:32 23:48 easy
NGC 2175 Open Ori 06h09m39.0s +20°29'12" 6.8 18:54 19:32 23:11 detectable
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ID Cls Con RA 2000 Dec 2000 Mag Begin Best End Difficulty
NGC 2237 Neb Mon 06h32m02.0s +04°59'10" 5.5 19:03 19:49 21:44 challenging
NGC 2264 Open Mon 06h40m58.0s +09°53'42" 4.1 18:51 19:57 23:58 easy
M 41 Open CMa 06h46m01.0s -20°45'24" 5.0 18:54 20:02 21:40 easy
NGC 2301 Open Mon 06h51m45.0s +00°27'36" 6.3 18:52 20:08 23:41 easy
M 50 Open Mon 07h02m42.0s -08°23'00" 7.2 18:55 20:19 23:16 detectable
NGC 2353 Open Mon 07h14m30.0s -10°16'00" 5.2 18:51 20:31 23:19 easy
NGC 2360 Open CMa 07h17m43.0s -15°38'30" 9.1 19:14 20:34 22:01 challenging
NGC 2355 Open Gem 07h16m59.0s +13°45'00" 9.7 18:59 20:34 23:16 difficult
NGC 2392 PNe Gem 07h29m10.8s +20°54'42" 8.6 18:48 20:46 01:15 obvious
NGC 2423 Open Pup 07h37m06.0s -13°52'18" 7.0 18:54 20:54 23:23 easy
M 47 Open Pup 07h36m35.0s -14°29'00" 4.3 18:52 20:53 23:19 obvious
NGC 2439 Open Pup 07h40m45.0s -31°41'36" 7.1 19:00 20:57 23:07 detectable
M 46 Open Pup 07h41m46.0s -14°48'36" 6.6 18:57 20:58 23:22 detectable
NGC 2440 PNe Pup 07h41m55.4s -18°12'31" 11.5 19:03 20:58 22:57 detectable
M 93 Open Pup 07h44m30.0s -23°51'24" 6.5 20:03 21:01 21:58 easy
NGC 2451 Open Pup 07h45m23.0s -37°57'21" 3.7 19:08 21:01 22:58 easy
NGC 2477 Open Pup 07h52m10.0s -38°31'48" 5.7 19:19 21:08 22:58 easy
NGC 2506 Open Mon 08h00m01.0s -10°46'12" 8.9 19:21 21:16 23:13 difficult
NGC 2547 Open Vel 08h10m09.0s -49°12'54" 5.0 20:56 21:27 21:57 challenging
NGC 2546 Open Pup 08h12m15.0s -37°35'42" 5.2 20:16 21:29 22:41 difficult
NGC 2571 Open Pup 08h18m56.0s -29°45'00" 7.4 19:19 21:35 23:51 detectable
M 44 Open Cnc 08h40m24.0s +19°40'00" 3.9 18:56 21:57 02:05 easy
M 67 Open Cnc 08h51m18.0s +11°48'00" 7.4 19:14 22:07 01:04 detectable
M 82 Gal UMa 09h55m52.4s +69°40'47" 9.0 18:56 23:12 05:02 detectable
M 81 Gal UMa 09h55m33.1s +69°03'56" 7.8 18:58 23:12 04:56 detectable
NGC 3132 PNe Vel 10h07m01.8s -40°26'11" 8.2 21:35 23:22 01:12 easy
NGC 3132 PNe Vel 10h07m01.8s -40°26'11" 8.2 21:35 23:22 01:12 easy
NGC 3228 Open Vel 10h21m22.0s -51°43'42" 6.4 23:16 23:37 23:59 challenging
NGC 3227 Gal Leo 10h23m30.6s +19°51'54" 11.5 20:31 23:40 02:46 difficult
NGC 3242 PNe Hya 10h24m46.1s -18°38'32" 8.6 21:45 23:40 01:38 obvious
M 97 PNe UMa 11h14m47.7s +55°01'09" 9.7 20:07 00:31 04:52 detectable
M 65 Gal Leo 11h18m55.7s +13°05'32" 10.1 21:09 00:35 04:00 detectable
M 66 Gal Leo 11h20m14.9s +12°59'30" 9.7 21:12 00:36 04:01 detectable
M 106 Gal CVn 12h18m57.6s +47°18'13" 9.1 21:33 01:34 05:05 detectable
Col 256 Open Com 12h25m06.0s +26°06'00" 2.9 21:22 01:40 05:09 easy
M 84 Gal Vir 12h25m03.9s +12°53'12" 10.1 22:25 01:41 04:53 detectable
M 86 Gal Vir 12h26m12.2s +12°56'44" 9.8 22:42 01:42 04:41 detectable
M 49 Gal Vir 12h29m46.8s +08°00'01" 9.3 22:31 01:45 04:55 detectable
M 87 Gal Vir 12h30m49.2s +12°23'29" 9.6 22:29 01:47 04:59 detectable
NGC 4565 Gal Com 12h36m20.8s +25°59'15" 10.1 22:38 01:52 04:58 difficult
M 68 Glob Hya 12h39m28.0s -26°44'36" 7.3 23:52 01:55 03:58 detectable
M 104 Gal Vir 12h39m59.3s -11°37'22" 9.1 23:15 01:56 04:36 detectable
M 94 Gal CVn 12h50m53.1s +41°07'12" 8.7 21:41 02:06 05:11 detectable
M 64 Gal Com 12h56m43.8s +21°41'00" 9.3 22:28 02:12 05:09 detectable
M 51 Gal CVn 13h29m52.3s +47°11'40" 8.7 22:02 02:45 05:12 easy
NGC 5195 Gal CVn 13h29m59.6s +47°15'58" 10.5 22:44 02:45 05:09 detectable
M 3 Glob CVn 13h42m11.0s +28°22'42" 6.3 22:50 02:57 05:13 easy
M 101 Gal UMa 14h03m12.4s +54°20'53" 8.4 23:14 03:18 05:08 detectable
11 Desert Sky Observer
www.avastronomyclub.org
A.V.A.C. Information
Membership in the Antelope Valley Astronomy Club
is open to any individual or family.
The Club has three categories of membership.
Family membership at $30.00 per year.
Individual membership at $25.00 per year.
Junior membership at $15.00 per year.
Membership entitles you to…
Desert Sky Observer–monthly newsletter.
The Reflector – the publication of the Astronomical League.
The A.V.A.C. Membership Manual.
To borrow club equipment, books, videos and other items.
AVAC
P.O. BOX 8545,
LANCASTER, CA 93539-8545
Visit the Antelope Valley Astronomy Club
website at www.avastronomyclub.org/
The Antelope Valley Astronomy Club, Inc.
is a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Corporation.
The A.V.A.C. is a Sustaining Member of
The Astronomical League and the
International Dark-Sky Association.
Board Members
President:
Frank Moore (661) 972-4775
Vice-President:
Rose Moore (661) 972-1953
Secretary:
Pam Grove
Treasurer:
Virgina Reed (661) 824-3932
Director of Community Development:
Don Bryden (661) 270-0627
Appointed Positions
Newsletter Editor:
Steve Trotta (661) 269-5428
Equipment & Library:
Bill Grove
Club Historian:
Tom Koonce (661) 943-8200
Webmaster:
Steve Trotta (661) 269-5428
Astronomical League Coordinator:
Don Bryden (661) 270-0627
12 Desert Sky Observer
www.avastronomyclub.org
Our Sponsors
Thank you to our sponsors for your generous support!
Cosmos Level Sponsors
Woodland Hills Camera 5348 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Woodland Hills
888-427-8766.
www.telescopes.net
Galaxy Level Sponsors
904 West Lancaster Blvd., Lancaster
(661) 948-1521
